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Timberwolves fall to Suns for 13th straight loss

Jan 8, 2015 - 7:10 AM Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - After trailing for much of the game, the Phoenix Suns staged a late comeback to top the Minnesota Timberwolves, 113-111, on Wednesday.

Goran Dragic paced the Suns with 25 points and Gerald Green added 21 off the bench in Phoenix's fourth straight win. Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas each netted 17 points.

"They did some good things," Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said. "They all played well."

The Timberwolves had a chance to win the game at the buzzer with an Andrew Wiggins 3-pointer, but his shot was off to extend their losing streak to 13 games.

Wiggins led Minnesota with 25 points, his fifth straight game with 20-or-more points. Mo Williams shot 4-of-7 from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points, while Anthony Bennett chipped in 14 points and 10 boards off the bench.

"I thought we were much better at time defensively," Minnesota head coach Flip Saunders said, "Overall, we had some growth from some of our guys."

Trailing by seven after three quarters, Green took over the game for the Suns. He scored 13 of their first 15 points of the quarter, and his 8-0 run gave Phoenix its first lead since early in the first period.

With 3:04 to go, Minnesota took the lead back on Thaddeus Young's layup, but Dragic responded immediately with a jumper on the other end. The lead would change seven times in the final quarter until a 6-0 run, capped by a Bledsoe slam with 55 seconds left, put the Suns ahead for good.

Dragic's missed free throw with eight ticks left on the clock gave the Timberwolves life. Zach Lavine hit two free throws on the other end to cut Phoenix's lead to just one point, and they trailed by two when Thomas missed one of his shots at the charity stripe. Young rebounded the miss, and Minnesota moved down the floor in transition. Chase Budinger found Wiggins with an open look for 3, but the rookie could not connect.

Minnesota's struggling defense stepped up in the first quarter and limited Phoenix to 32 percent shooting. The Timberwolves scored 11 of the final 17 points in the period and took a 25-20 lead after one.

An evenly-matched second quarter resulted in a 48-45 Minnesota lead at the break. With 7 1/2 minutes to go, Dragic's tip-in pulled the Suns within two, but Bennett scored five points in a 7-0 Minnesota run to extend its lead up to nine points.

Minnesota took its largest lead in the third quarter with an outstanding period from Shabazz Muhammad. He scored all 12 of his points in the third, including the first eight for the Timberwolves. Phoenix shot 13-of-22 in the period, but Minnesota used seven offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points to build its lead to a game-high 13 points.

Williams hit a triple right at the end of the quarter to give Minnesota a 78-71 lead after three.

Game Notes

After missing one game with an illness, Minnesota coach Flip Saunders was back on the bench ... Budinger and fellow Wolves forward Robbie Hummel also returned from illness ... Phoenix has scored 100 or more points in 10 straight games ... Minnesota falls to 2-25 when its opponent shoots better than 45 percent.